Benjamin L. Cardin is a Democratic member of the United States Senate, representing Maryland. He was elected to his position in 2006. Prior to his career in the Senate, Cardin was a representative in the House since 1987, representing Maryland's 3rd District.

Cardin served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967-1986 and he was Speaker from 1979-1986.

He graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1967, the first in his class. He earned his Bachelor's of Arts degree in 1964 from the University of Pittsburgh.

Cardin served as chairman of the Maryland Legal Services Corp. from 1988-1995. From 1988-1999, he served on the St. Mary's College Board of Trustees, and in 2002 he was appointed to St. Mary's Advisory Board, Center for Study of Democracy. He has been a Trustee of the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs since 1999, and in 2003 joined the Johns Hopkins University's Institute for Policy Studies' National Advisory Board. He served on the Goucher College Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2008. In 1991, he was appointed to the University of Maryland School of Law Board of Visitors, and in 1998, he was appointed to the UMBC President's Board of Visitors. In 2007, he was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy's Board of Visitors.[1]

Committees

Cardin currently serves on the following Senate Committees in the 114th United States Congress:

The FMLN assassinated American military trainers, U.S. Marines who guarded the embassy in San Salvador, American businessmen and CIA assets, and a retired American Jesuit priest, the Rev. Francisco Peccorini. [4]

The Working Families Legislative Conference was part of a series of regionally based Next Agenda conferences, "representing a new kind of partnership between CAF and state-level progressive organizations — unity coalitions which are coming together around a progressive action agenda for their state and for the nation".

“We are proud to be helping to co-sponsor this remarkable conference,” said CAF co-director, Roger Hickey. “Through our collaboration with state-level citizen groups, like Progressive Maryland, we are able to rally support for an economic recovery agenda that works for states and for the country. This mission was important before September 11. Now it is essential.”

“We must organize at the grassroots, build power in localities and states, and create in theses ‘laboratories of democracy’ the formula for economic success in Washington, DC.” said Sean Dobson, one of the leaders of Progressive Maryland.[5]

Cindy Farquhar told Lynch she was “disappointed” that Cardin did not sign on to the Woolsey Amendment, named for Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) requiring President George W. Bush to announce an “exit strategy” to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq.

“We’re long past the idea that providing a better helmet is ‘supporting the troops,’” she said. “We are also asking him to join in pursuing the investigation of the Downing Street Memo. There are 120 House members who have signed Conyers’ letter to Bush on that memo.”

Lynch asked, “What does the Conyers’ letter do?”

Maria Allwine, a Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate replied, “It asks Bush to answer the Downing Street Memo’s allegation that he ‘fixed’ intelligence on Iraq. Mr. Bush doesn’t feel he needs to answer it.” Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) is the leading Democrat on the House Judiciary committee.

If Cardin “can’t even put his signature on a letter demanding that Bush answer those questions, I can see that Cardin doesn’t represent me,” Allwine said.

As the meeting proceeded, other POR members began reading aloud and attaching to a mock “memorial wall” the names of the 1,700 U.S. soldiers and thousands of coalition troops and Iraqis who have died. “Presente,” they said after each name.

When 5:30 p.m. arrived, another Cardin aide announced that the office was closing. Those who refused to leave would face arrest, she warned. Many departed but Farquhar, Allwine, Baltimore Veterans for Peace leader Ellen Barfield, and peace activist, Max Obuszewski made clear they would not leave until they heard from Cardin.

Finally, Lynch telephoned Cardin. The aide returned about 7 p.m. to tell the POR delegation that the Congressman had agreed to three of the four proposals: He would sign on to Conyers letter, endorse Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) “timetable” for withdrawal from Iraq; and would call for the closing of the U.S. Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Cardin conveyed that he wants to meet with the delegation on the fourth proposal: voting against future funding of the war.

“Everyone believes it was a clear victory,” Obuszewski told the People's World. “One reason we went to Cardin’s office is that he is running for the U.S. Senate. We want to get the dialogue going right now.”

Their success, he added, dramatizes the importance of individual and organized group visits to lawmakers during the upcoming July 4 congressional recess. With public support of the war plummeting, he said, many lawmakers, even those who supported the war, can be convinced to support peace initiatives. [6]

European Socialist ties

The Party of European Socialists dialogue with the US Democrats and the Transatlantic partnership "was a priority over the last years" (written in 2009).

Supported by Council for a Livable World

The Council for a Livable World, founded in 1962 by long-time socialist activist and alleged Soviet agent, Leo Szilard, is a non-profit advocacy organization that seeks to "reduce the danger of nuclear weapons and increase national security", primarily through supporting progressive, congressional candidates who support their policies. The Council supported Benjamin L. Cardin in his successful Senate run as candidate for Maryland.[8]

An evening celebration was held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Congressman Barney Frank acted as the Master of Ceremonies and, in the process, received a lifetime achievement award from former Rep. Tom Downey, a member of the Council’s Board of Directors. The Robert F. Drinan Peace and Human Award was presented to former Representative and PeacePAC Chairman David Bonior and the late Edith Wilkie, a longtime advocate and leader for peace and justice.

Six sitting Senators joined CLW in an afternoon national security forum in the U.S. Capitol to speak on the issues Council has been working on for 50 years. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) all spoke eloquently on these pressing issues.[9]

Council for a Livable World has a long and close relationship with each of the Senators. They have all been leading advocates in the Senate for sensible national security policies, such as reducing the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction, reigning in the bloated defense budget, and bringing an end to the War in Afghanistan.

Senator Cardin discussed what he termed “big picture” concerns. He stated we need to conceive of national security spending as including much more than the military budget, such as investments in international development and diplomacy. However the budgets for development and diplomacy don’t reflect their essential importance to national security. He argued that the US must exhibit stronger leadership in these areas. Senator Cardin also lamented the situation in Syria and Russia’s role in aiding Assad. He noted that while he believes Assad must resign, there is no guarantee that his replacement will be better.[10]

Credit for New START treaty

According to the Council for a Livable World, in December 2010, After a battle that lasted many months, the Senate voted 71-26 to give its advice and consent to the New START Resolution of Ratification.

The effort to win the Senate’s two-thirds majority was like riding a roller coaster, with optimism followed by pessimism followed by optimism and back and forth.

Ultimately, the vote was a remarkably bipartisan victory in an intensely hyper-partisan atmosphere. It is a victory for the consensus of former national security officials of both parties and both active duty and retired military.

Ratification of the treaty is only the beginning. The U.S. and Russia should take advantage of the momentum created by the approval of New START to pursue negotiations on reductions in all types of nuclear warheads, including non-deployed and non-strategic warheads, in a timely manner.

Lots of credit goes to Senators Kerry and Lugar (R-IN), who managed the treaty, other Senators who have been active for the treaty such as Casey (D-PA), Shaheen (D-NH), Cardin (D-MD), Franken (D-MN) and others, the Obama Administration who put together a terrific campaign (and I will not name everyone because there are too many to name) and a terrific effort by the arms control community.[11]

ARA connection

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) addressed the Maryland/DC Alliance for Retired Americans, August 4, 2011 about the recently enacted budget compromise that raised the debt ceiling and saved the nation from default. The Senator assured the group that the budget agreement has protections for Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid and federal retiree benefits.

“The budget provides for nearly $1 trillion in deficit reduction during the next 10 years. But importantly, it protects domestic priorities by allowing more than $40 billion in discretionary domestic spending next year than was contained in the Republican budget that passed the House,” said Senator Cardin, a member of the Budget and Finance committees. [13]

ARA endorsement

Anti "speculator" bill

in April 2012 Ben Cardin joined a group of his Senate colleagues in sponsoring a bill, S. 2222, which "will give federal regulators immediate authority to invoke emergency powers to rein in speculators who are responsible for rapidly rising gasoline prices".

There is broad agreement among energy experts and economists that speculators are one of the causes for the rapidly rising price of gas. Domestic oil production has risen to its highest level in a decade, oil supplies are greater today than they were three years ago and demand for oil in the United States is lower today than it was in 1997. Yet gas prices continue to soar.

There is something wrong with this equation. There is no logical reason why gas prices should continue to rise if oil supplies are up and demand is down.

The American Trucking Association, Delta Airlines, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and other experts all say excessive oil speculation in the futures markets significantly increases crude oil and gasoline prices. A Feb. 27, 2012 article in Forbes Magazine cited a recent report by the investment bank Goldman Sachs pointing out that excessive oil speculation adds 56 cents to the price of a gallon of gas.

Honduras letter

On Thursday, May 23, 2013, U.S. Senator Cardin (D-MD) circulated a Senate sign-on "Dear Colleague" letter to Secretary of State John Kerry addressing deepening concerns about Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Honduras.

The letter states that violence and impunity for state security forces in Honduras has reached intolerable levels and cites concerns related to extrajudicial killings, linkages to death squads, and increasing militarization of civilian law enforcement. The letter also raises the concern that State Department certifications intended to ensure that U.S. foreign aid supports the rule of law in Honduras may contradict the reality on the ground.

The letter asks State Department to:

provide Congress with a detailed assessment of the efficacy of current Honduran government efforts to address this issue as mandated by FY12 Appropriations language;

conduct a detailed review of specific State Department actions to help ensure that no U.S. funds are being used to support police implicated in human rights violations; and

make every reasonable effort to help ensure that Honduras' upcoming November 2013 elections are free, fair and peaceful.[17]

CASA connection

Ribbon cutters

June 2010, U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin (Md.) were among the special guests who helped cut the ribbon on CASA de Maryland's newly expanded and renovated multicultural center in Langly Park, Md. Through an investment partnership with Bank of America, Enterprise helped finance the green property with $7.9 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocation. [19]

CASA de Maryland, the state's largest immigrant advocate organization celebrated its 25th birthday by opening a new headquarters in the 21, 000 square foot McCormick-Goodhart mansion.

The facility will now be known as the CASA de Maryland MultiCultural Center. The renovation took almost three years and cost nearly $14 million dollars , "Some donations from the community were as small as a quarter and the largest was $2 million dollars" says CASA's Executive Director Gustavo Torres.

Immigration forum

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) met May 20, 2013 with community leaders from across Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland for a roundtable on immigration reform. Hosted by CASA de Maryland, the roundtable discussion provided an opportunity for Senator Cardin to hear from key stakeholders in the immigration debate and to share the latest proposals coming from Washington. The event follows the first week of deliberation by the Senate Judiciary Committee of comprehensive immigration reform legislation (S. 744). It also comes just days after a group in the House of Representatives announced that they had reached a bipartisan agreement on immigration reform.

“We need to seize this unprecedented opportunity to pass real, bipartisan immigration reform. We cannot do this in pieces; it must be a comprehensive effort that allows for a fair pathway to citizenship for the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants now living in the United States.

“Now that the Senate is moving forward on a bipartisan plan and Members of the House of Representatives have developed a bipartisan plan, there is real hope that we can achieve reforms that would strengthen border security, create a fair legalization program, and create a workable system to ensure that employers only hire legal workers in the future. We also should not forget that immigration reform also is about keeping families together and ensuring that immigration laws are respected.”[21]

Local union activist Jaime Contreras agrees. "Comprehensive immigration reform is possible this year. The political landscape has changed, and I think our friends on the right have now figured out that this is a good time for them to change their face with the immigrant community."[22]

Federal grant

U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski November 25, 2013 congratulated CASA de Maryland for being awarded a $3 million through the Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation Fund (i3). The grant will be used to fund the Learning Together Project, a multi-tier, multigenerational program designed to give immigrant families the tools they need in order to navigate themselves and their children through the American educational system.

“I am proud that the Department of Education is partnering with CASA de Maryland to develop best practices for strengthening families and communities that will be used nationwide. CASA de Maryland is on the forefront of developing innovative ways to provide immigrant families with critical services,” said Senator Cardin. “The federal dollars going into Langley Park will go far in strengthening our entire county by promoting education as the great equalizer.”

“Education is the opportunity ladder of this nation,” said Senator Mikulski, a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. “CASA de Maryland is an important part of that ladder for the Latino community in Maryland, providing job training and classes in English, computers and financial literacy. Immigrants have and always will be a part of our nation’s fabric. These federal dollars will help CASA de Maryland provide families with the tools they need to obtain a quality education.”[23]

Roundtable with Latino Small Business Owners

Cardin hosted a Roundtable with Latino Small Business Owners in Prince George’s County, Monday, September 22, 2014.

Vietnam visit

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh welcomed US Senator Ben Cardin to Viet Nam May 2014, calling it an opportunity to frankly and openly discuss issues of common concern.

Minh said this is a time to strengthen bilateral ties and urging the US Congress to support the exchange of delegations at all levels, continue opening the US market for Vietnamese goods while reducing trade barriers. He also voiced his hope for a decrease of cases of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy, as well as flexibility in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks as pledged by the US. Mr. Cardin, who is also the chair of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voiced his support for the two countries in implementing the comprehensive partnership and for early conclusion of TPP talks. The two sides exchanged views on regional and international issues, including the current situation in the East Sea.[25]

Cuba's removal from terrorism list

Ben Cardin: Cuba’s Removal Gives The US “The Space Needed To More Vigorously Promote Our National Interests And The Values That We As A Nation Hold Dear.” “Following the Cuban government’s release of Marylander Alan Gross late last year, the United States has a unique opportunity to begin a fresh chapter with Cuba. This announcement clears the way for the United States and Cuba to re-establish diplomatic relations and strengthen people-to-people ties between our two countries. The Obama Administration now has the space needed to more vigorously promote our national interests and the values that we as a nation hold dear. A healthy and prosperous Cuba will promote a more open society and that is good for the United States.” Cardin Press Release, “Cardin Statement on the President’s Decision to Remove Cuba from the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism,” 4/14/15.

Cuba visit

Three visiting U.S. senators said on June 27, 2015, they hoped Congress would support President Barack Obama's opening toward Cuba, including lifting a ban on U.S. citizens traveling to the Communist-run island.

"We think that can be achieved this year and we can make additional progress next year," Cardin told a news conference. "We're optimistic this path that President Obama and President (Raul) Castro started will be continued."

Heller, one of a few Republican senators to side with Obama on Cuba, encouraged members of Congress to visit Cuba and engage with ordinary Cubans. "I think the Senate can move the House, but the Senate's going to have to act first," Heller told Reuters after the news conference.[28]

CAIR

“I particularly want to commend CAIR for working to educate others about Islam, a religion of more than one billion people in the world. CAIR also has provided members of the Muslim community in the United States with an important voice in promoting social justice and mutual understanding. CAIR has 31 offices nationwide and in Canada and through your work you have helped promote a dialogue among employers, law enforcement officials, and government agencies. CAIR understands the importance of developing mutual understanding and trust.”- Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) (November 2007).[29]

SAALT Congressional Briefing on Hate Violence

March 23, 2017, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national South Asian civil rights organization, held a Congressional briefing to address the uptick in hate violence nationwide and highlight recommendations for change, as outlined in our recent report, “Power, Pain, Potential.” SAALT was joined by eight members of Congressional leadership and community partners in an urgent discussion on combatting the surge in hate violence aimed at South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Arab, and Middle Eastern Americans across the country.

“As President Trump continues to test fire Muslim bans, this administration appears intent on intensifying efforts to ignore and provoke hate violence,” stated Suman Raghunathan, Executive Director of SAALT. “The President has a sworn duty to protect the rights and safety of all Americans. Today’s briefing with Congressional leaders is an important step in making sure President Trump doesn’t escape his responsibilities.”

Our communities have experienced devastating violence in recent months, including deadly shootings in Kansas and Washington State, numerous arson attacks and vandalism of mosques, businesses, and homes nationwide, and mounting fear by our communities across the country.

“SAALT stands ready to work with Congressional leaders to fight hate violence and xenophobic political rhetoric impacting our communities across the country,” stated Ms. Raghunathan. “South Asian Americans are the most rapidly growing demographic group, and we are committed to policies at all levels that reinforce the place our communities have in our nation now and as we continue to grow.”

Key speaker will be Ellecer Carlos, spokesperson of I Defend Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDefend) who completed a speaking tour in Europe and the US, on issues of extrajudicial killings, martial law, China’s illegal incursion in the West Philippine Sea and alleged creeping authoritarianism in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte.

On July 19, Wednesday, members of the Filipino American Human Rights Alliance (FAHRA) will convene with the offices of Rep. Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) in DC and San Mateo, California, to push for the introduction of complementary Senate bills co-introduced by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida): S1055 – The Philippine Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act of 2017; S659 – Impose Sanctions With Respect to People’s Republic of China’s activities in South China Sea and East China Sea.[30]

"Be HEARD" Act

April 9 2019, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, was joined by Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-MA-5), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7), to introduce the Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (Be HEARD) in the Workplace Act, legislation which takes critical steps to ensure businesses have more resources to prevent harassment and workers have more support when they seek accountability and justice, and sends a clear message to those who think they can get away with assault or harassment on the job: time is up.

“No matter who you are or where you work—whether you are the only woman on the board, or a janitor, or farm worker, you should be treated fairly, respectfully, and with dignity. This should be true no matter your gender or race, your religion or sexual orientation or age—and regardless of whether you have a disability or are a veteran.” said Senator Murray. “For far too long and for far too many people in our country this hasn’t been true. So today, I’m proud to be standing up to fight for change and make clear that time is up.”